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The only sound that could be heard at that moment was the soft whooshes of air through Pearl's ballet slippers as she strolled through the house. Her eyes, as pale and blue as robin eggs, swept through the living room for a small figure in pink and blue. She lifted her hands to the sides of her mouth and called out, "Steven? Steven, where are you?" She stood for a moment, waiting for a reply. She sighed in mild exasperation when she received no answer. She then groaned softly. "Did I not tell him to stay here while we went to check the warp pads?", she mused. She loved her little boy, but sometimes she felt as if raising him was more difficult then it should be. She walked along, peering into random nooks and corners. She had checked his bedroom earlier and he wasn't there.
She found him in the foyer as she turned to walk out of the kitchen. "So he has been here all the while.", she thought, blushing at her previous agitation. She slowly and quietly approached him, noticing that he was staring intently at something on the wall. As she came closer, she saw that his brows were furrowed, but his eyes were wide, and his head was tilted to a slight angle. The sunlight from a window and the shadows of the corner threw them both into a chiaroscuro that felt as if something ancient and silent had fallen over them both. She looked up to see what Steven could possibly be staring at so intently.
It was a familiar painting. In the painting, Garnet , wearing something resembling stereotypical pirate attire,stood at the bow of a small rowboat, and a shark was reeling back from her fist in mid-leap. Behind her, Rose had turned her face to the wind, her eyes closed and her curly pink hair billowing softly behind her. At one side of the boat both herself and Amethyst were pulling a sailor out of the ocean.
Pearl knew where she had seen this painting before. But she didn't recall seeing it here. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in thought and hummed softly. Steven startled slightly at the sudden noise and turned to it's source. He relaxed when he saw it was only one of his mother figures. "Oh, hey, Pearl!", he greeted, smiling. Pearl returned a small smile of her own. She snapped her pale, thin fingers. "Of course," she thought, "I've seen this exact painting in Amethyst's room." She looked down her nose, not unkindly, at the young boy. "Hello, Steven. Would you mind telling me why this painting has been moved?" Steven looked mildly surprised before he replied, "Oh, Amethyst gave it to me and told me I could hang it somewhere." He paused before asking, "Why do you ask?" The elder Gem replied calmly, her curiosity sated, "Oh, just because I've never seen this painting be any where else." "Oh." Steven fixed her with a curious look of his own. "What's even happening in this picture, anyway?"
Pearl looked once more at the seemingly random scene depicted there and tried to find a sensible way to explain it. She found a way to open with it, at least. "Steven, do you remember when you acted in that play with the mailman?" Steven's eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh yeah! Does this have something to do with William Dewey?" Pearl nodded. "Yes. You see, this painting was painted a while ago." She cupped her chin in thought. "Maybe a little over five centuries or so ago, it feels like almost like a week ago to me." The boy's eyes widened and shimmered, and he slowly lowered himself onto his haunches and then onto the floor. Pearl looked down, slightly confused, before she recognized what she liked to refer to as the "storytime" look. She hadn't seen that look in five years. "It's still just adorable, though." Pearl couldn't restrain a small, nostalgic smile and she sat on the floor in front of Steven. "You see, this took place at least one voyage before William Dewey discovered and founded the state of Delmarva...."
The floor swayed gently under the graceful ballerina as she made her way toward the cabins. The crisp and sweet smell of saltwater permeated the air. She looked up into the crow's nest. There, a human man looked out into the horizon via a telescope he held to his right eye. She heard gentle thumps against the wooden boards and turned her head. A large woman swathed in white came to her side, her gaze fixed to the sky. Pearl gazed at her leader admiringly, turning her nose to the sky to see what she was seeing. Her appreciative smile fell away from her face so fast it must have been pulled down by gravity. Large, dark clouds swirled menacingly overhead, and there was a smell in the air that was sharp and clear like a shard of glass.
Pearl looked over anxiously, attempting to gauge whether or not she should be worried from the older Gem's reaction. Rose still had her gaze fixed on the sky, and there was a look of calm concern on her face. The pink-haired woman turned her large, dark eyes to her slighter companion and spoke softly, but firmly, "It would be best to get the humans beneath deck. They can't breathe if they're underwater." Pearl locked eyes with her, staring for a moment, then nodded. She never could understand Rose's odd affection for the mortal creatures, but Rose was still someone she would do whatever to please. She strode out to the middle of the deck, where there were sailors working on furling the sails. Among them were Garnet and Amethyst.
Pearl strode up to them, clapping authoritatively in a "let's hurry this up" way. "There's a storm coming," she stated simply, as if the statement was self-explanatory. Apparently, it was, judging by the panicked look on the sailor's faces as they hurried to furl the sails. Garnet glanced through her shades at the storm approaching impassively. Amethyst looked at Pearl with eyes full of mischief, sticking out her tongue in a "who-died-and-made-you-a-Diamond" gesture. Pearl rolled her eyes and stooped to pick up the smaller Gem. Amethyst, in jest, attempted to struggle before going limp. she vaguely heard the sailor's shoes tapping frantically against the ship as they scrambled for cover in the cabins. She jumped and jostled the smaller Gem slightly at a growling crack of thunder as a white streak of fire darted down and made contact with the ocean. The taller Gems walked over and joined them. Suddenly there were startled cries as the ship pitched violently as if it were a large animal trying to throw them from it's back, and the Gems slid, frantically trying not to topple over. The attempt knocked Pearl onto her seat and Amethyst jolted as she was suddenly slammed into Pearl's lap. Rose cried out again, this time in horror. "Oh, some of them just fell overboard!" She looked over at her subordinates pleadingly.
Pearl felt herself sigh internally. What was it with Rose's fascination with the creatures of this planet? She got to her feet and placed Amethyst back on the ground. She saw that already Rose and Garnet were heading toward the lifeboats. She charged off in their direction, Amethyst following close behind.
Pearl leaped into the boat just in time, dragging the purple Gem behind her, when Garnet cut the ropes securing the small rowboat to the ship. They hurtled down with a splash. Garnet moved toward the bow and began to row toward the eerily Gem-like flailing arms of the drowning humans. As soon as they were near, Rose, who was positioned behind Garnet, leaned over the side and began pulling in the drowning creatures in her strong, soft arms. Pearl and Amethyst, wishing to help their leader, began doing the same. The humans heaved and coughed up water as they were pulled aboard. Rose would coo softly to them as they hacked and heaved.
Then, there was yet another cry from one of the more conscious sailors. The Gems turned their heads to see the large ship flop onto it's side like an exhausted dog. They all stared, but Pearl looked over at Rose after a moment. Her heart shattered as she took in the sorrowful, grieving expression on the pink Gem's face. As if Rose had felt Pearl's gaze, she turned and gave her a rueful smile. "We saved those that we could."
It was hours later when the clouds cleared and the survivors had stopped their weeping and wailing. The sun crept out from behind the clouds. Garnet was still at the front of the boat. One of the sailors pointed out into the horizon. "There's something there.", he stated simply. There was a triangular figure approaching the boat. The Gems watched it warily.
Suddenly the small boat lurched as something smashed into the bottom, sending sailors, screeching, into the water once more. Pearl brought her palm swiftly to her face as she, Rose, and Amethyst once more scrambled to pull them into the boat. Suddenly a fanged blur of grey and white launched itself toward Garnet. The Gem summoned her gauntlets, and, in one deft movement, decked it in the face.
Steven sat there, amazed, his jaw hanging slightly slack in amazement. "Woah.", he commented. He paused for a moment. "What happened after Garnet fought the shark?", he asked. Pearl answered simply, "We got to shore, found a shipping company, and escorted the sailors to their home." In reality, two of the sailors had died of dehydration while they were stranded at sea. but Pearl felt it wasn't necessary to tell Steven such things. "Now, come on, we need to fold some of your laundry or you won't have anything to wear tomorrow.